Mistleleaf's Code
by CaramelThing
Summary: Mistlekit was born a normal cat. As she grows into an apprentice, she is torn between the path of a medicine cat and a warrior. StarClan speaks to her, telling her of a prophecy she can't ignore; she must become a medicine cat to avoid fulfilling the prophecy. However, when she chooses to be a medicine cat, everything goes downhill.
1. The Codes

Warrior Code:

1\. Defend your Clan, even with your life. You may have friendships with cats from other Clans, but your loyalty must remain to your Clan, as one day you may meet them in battle.

2\. Do not hunt or trespass on another Clan's territory.

3\. Elders, queens, and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the elders. If any warrior or apprentice is sick or injured, they may eat while the elders, queens, and kits are eating.

4\. Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to StarClan for its life.

5\. A kit must be at least six moons old to become an apprentice.

6\. Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name.

7\. A cat cannot be made deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice.

8\. The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires or is exiled.

9\. After the death or retirement of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh.

10\. A Gathering of all four Clans is held at the full moon during a truce that lasts for the night. There shall be no fighting among Clans at this time.

11\. Boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Challenge all trespassing cats.

12\. No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is from a different Clan.

13\. The word of the Clan Leader is the warrior code.

14\. An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win his/her battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or if it is necessary for self-defense.

15\. A warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet.

16\. Each Clan has the right to be proud and independent, but in times of trouble they must forget their boundaries and fight side by side to protect the four. Each Clan must help the others so that no Clan will fall.

17\. A she-cat's mentor will be a tom, and vice versa.

18\. A name is important to a warrior, and leaders and mothers shall not give kits or warriors that are against the warrior code or one that would cause discrimination amongst the Clan.

19\. When a deputy becomes a leader, they will have a star branded into their forehead by the spirit of the previous leader, and the previous leader's star will disappear.

Medicine Code:

1\. A medicine cat cannot take on a mate.

2\. A medicine cat cannot have kits.

3\. A medicine cat will never let personal feelings in the way of his or her duties.

4\. Medicine cats are outside Clan and Clan rivalry.

5\. A medicine cat may be trained in as a warrior before a medicine cat, but a medicine cat cannot become a normal warrior.

6\. Medicine cats are outside Clan rivalries, but they still must learn basic fighting moves.

7\. A medicine cat must be able to interpret signs from StarClan.

8\. Medicine cats cannot reject an injured cat.

9\. A medicine cat must do everything in his or her power to save a sick or injured cat.

10\. A medicine cat will give his or her life to save a cat.

11\. A medicine cat will be exiled from their Clan if they kill one of their patients.


	2. Allegiances

Allegiances

CaveClan

Leader: Russetstar - dark ginger tom with black and white spots and blue eyes

Deputy : Sparrowsong - dappled light brown and pale cream tom with brown eyes

Medicine cat : Mossyflight - black and white she-cat with green eyes

Warriors (toms and she-cats without kits)

Thistlefang - cream and brown tom with sticking-out fur and amber eyes (apprentice, Tigerpaw)

Nightpool - black she-cat with blue eyes

Amberpelt - pale tortoiseshell she-cat with white paws and yellow eyes (apprentice, Spiderpaw)

Silvertail - white and black tabby she-cat with a gray tail and green eyes

Splashwhisker - ginger tom with a splash of white and black on his back and blue eyes (apprentice, Ravenpaw)

Primroseclaw - mottled pale ginger she-cat with white patches and gray eyes

Rosefur - bright ginger tabby she-cat with a white tail and amber eyes

Molestrike - dark brown and black tabby tom with brown eyes

Mousestripe - gray tom with a white stripe along his spine and hazel eyes (apprentice, Whitepaw)

Thrushdapple - dappled brown and white she-cat with amber eyes

Cherryface - white she-cat with a ginger face, black patches and blue eyes

Willowfoot - black and white tom with gray paws, a tabby tail and green eyes

Berrycloud - fluffy brown tabby she-cat with a white face and yellow eyes

Bramblefang - flecked golden tom with a white face and yellow eyes

Briarheart - very dark brown tabby she-cat with white ears and golden eyes (apprentice, Swiftpaw)

Ferntuft - spotted gray tom with tabby legs and brown eyes

Tansywhisker - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

Yarrowblaze - flecked golden tom with white paws and amber eyes

Mistyfrost - pale silver she-cat with gray eyes

Skyfeather - mottled white she-cat with blue eyes

Emberleaf - dappled orange tom with green eyes

Shellflower - cream she-cat with a white stripe along her spine and hazel eyes (apprentice, Adderpaw)

Smokewing - spotted dark gray she-cat with a white face and amber eyes

Bloompool - white she-cat with dark gray flecks and yellow eyes

Apprentices (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

Whitepaw - pure white she-cat with green eyes

Swiftpaw - black and gray tom with white paws and gray eyes

Ravenpaw - black tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Tigerpaw - marbled brown tabby she-cat with black paws and brown eyes

Spiderpaw - dark gray and black tabby tom with amber eyes

Adderpaw - spotted brown and white tom with hazel eyes

Queens (she - cats expecting or nursing kits)

Leafwind - black and ginger she-cat with green eyes, mother of Mistlekit, a pale tortoiseshell she-kit with sticking-out fur and amber eyes, and Sorrelkit, a ginger and white tom with green eyes

Elders (former queens and warriors, now retired)

Goldenstorm - gold and gray she-cat with white spots and gray eyes

Beetlefern - dark brown tom with glossy fur and green eyes

Mothbreeze - black and white tabby tom with blind blue eyes

ForestClan

Leader : Badgerstar - black tom with white patches and amber eyes

Deputy : Foxcloud - ginger she-cat with black flecks, white paws and green eyes

Medicine cat : Palefang - pale gray and white tabby tom with gray eyes

Warriors (toms and she - cats without kits)

Cloudstep - dappled white tom with green eyes

Smallwillow - spotted dark gray she-cat with amber eyes

Darkspots - ginger she-cat with darker spots, white paws and yellow eyes

Grayfeather - pale gray she-cat with white patches and blue eyes (apprentice, Tawnypaw)

Lionwhisker - golden-brown tabby tom with a brown face and brown eyes

Robinstripe - dark brown and black she-cat with a ginger stripe along her spine and amber eyes (apprentice, Redpaw)

Frogwing - flecked pale brown and white tom with hazel eyes

Larchface - flecked pale ginger she-cat with a tabby tail and green eyes

Rowanstone - dark ginger tom with gray eyes

Pineleaf - marbled dark brown and black tabby she-cat with green eyes

Hollyfur - ginger she-cat with black flecks and green eyes

Brackenwhisker - brown and white tom with tabby legs and yellow eyes (apprentice, Specklepaw)

Gorseheart - spotted dark golden tom with amber eyes

Poppyfoot - ginger tabby she-cat with black paws and blue eyes

Sagenose - light gray and black tabby she-cat with hazel eyes

Icepuddle - white she-cat with silver and gray patches and blue eyes

Lightningshine - flecked pale gold and white tom with golden eyes

Ashsong - dark gray she-cat with a black stripe along her spine and yellow eyes

Scorchflight - orange tabby tom with a black face and gray eyes

Shimmerpelt - black she-cat with golden eyes (apprentice, Toadpaw)

Clawstrike - brown tabby tom with white paws and brown eyes

Webclaw - dappled silver tom with amber eyes

Apprentices (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

Redpaw - ginger tabby tom with white paws and blue eyes

Tawnypaw - brown tom with a white stripe along his spine and green eyes

Specklepaw - black tabby she-cat with white paws and amber eyes

Toadpaw - pale brown and black tabby tom with brown eyes

Queens (she - cats expecting or nursing kits)

Blackfur - mottled black she-cat with a tabby tail and green eyes, mother of Mosskit, a dark tortoiseshell and white she-kit with tabby legs and green eyes, Blizzardkit, a dark gray and white tabby tom with amber eyes, and Brownkit, a mottled brown and white tom with hazel eyes

Larkflower - dappled pale brown, black and white she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Dawnkit, a dappled golden she-kit with blue eyes, and Shadekit, a spotted black and white tom with amber eyes

Elders (former queens and warriors, now retired)

Leopardrunner - golden she-cat with black spots and brown eyes

Rattail - dark gray tom with amber eyes

MoorClan

Leader : Kestrelstar - brown tom with black and white flecks and blue eyes

Deputy : Patchshade - black and gray tabby tom with gray eyes

Medicine cat: Deerfern - mottled pale brown and white she-cat with green eyes (apprentice, Gingerpaw)

Warriors (toms and she - cats without kits)

Brightstream - cream she-cat with white patches and blue eyes (apprentice, Squirrelpaw)

Tinyleap - pale gray tabby tom with green eyes

Birchsnow - white and pale gray she-cat with black flecks and hazel eyes

Logstripe - marbled brown tabby tom with white paws and yellow eyes

Seedfire - orange she-cat with darker spots, white ears, tabby legs and amber eyes

Olivewhisker - pale gold and gray tom with a black stripe along his spine and gray eyes

Clovernose - lilac tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes (apprentice, Lizardpaw)

Heatherfang - pure white she-cat with one blue eye and one brown eye

Grassdapple - dappled cream and black tom with a tabby tail and hazel eyes

Ivystream - silver tabby she-cat with black paws and turquoise eyes

Nettleshine - light brown tom with gold and white patches and amber eyes

Rushheart - pale gray and white tom with blue eyes

Sedgetail - black she-cat with a bushy tabby tail and green eyes

Mintfoot - white she-cat with ginger and black paws, tabby legs and gray eyes (apprentice, Hawkpaw)

Morningfur - golden tom with gray spots, white ears and yellow eyes

Rainface - black she-cat with a gray face, a white stripe along his spine and gray eyes

Sootpelt - dark gray tom with black spots and amber eyes

Cinderclaw - gray tabby tom with white paws and hazel eyes (apprenticed to Yellowpaw)

Sweetfall - tortoiseshell she-cat with a black tabby tail and brown eyes

Bumblespots - brown tom with white spots and yellow eyes (apprentice, Jaypaw)

Sunblaze - ginger and white tom with golden eyes

Apprentices (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

Squirrelpaw - ginger and white she-cat with yellow eyes

Gingerpaw - dark ginger tom with white patches and amber eyes

Yellowpaw - golden tabby she-cat with white chest fur and yellow eyes

Lizardpaw - spotted white tom with a black muzzle and blue eyes

Hawkpaw - very dark gray tabby tom with black paws and green eyes

Jaypaw - pale gray and white she-cat with gray eyes

Queens (she - cats expecting or nursing kits)

Mottleflight - mottled dark brown and white she-cat with green eyes, expecting

Elders (former queens and warriors, now retired)

Dovestorm - dark gray and black she-cat with amber eyes

Brindlefeather - crippled golden tabby she-cat with brown eyes

Buzzardtail - flecked pale ginger and white tom with a tabby tail and green eyes

Snakewing - brown tabby tom with white paws and blue eyes

StreamClan

Leader : Otterstar - dappled dark brown and black tom with green eyes

Deputy : Copperfang - orange tom with gray eyes

Medicine cat : Dapplecloud - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with blue eyes

Warriors (toms and she - cats without kits)

Spottedstrike - light brown tom with white spots and yellow eyes (apprentice, Maplepaw)

Sandsky - pale ginger tabby she-cat with blue eyes (apprentice, Snailpaw)

Wolfstream - dark gray and white tom with brown eyes

Crowblaze - black tom with reddish-amber eyes

Aspenwind - golden she-cat with pale gray and white spots and blue eyes

Alderstorm - dark ginger and gray tabby tom with green eyes

Podshade - mottled gray tom with nearly black eyes

Lilyberry - dappled pale ginger and white she-cat with gray eyes

Petalbird - flecked orange she-cat with white paws, a brown underbelly and golden eyes

Hazelwing - light brown she-cat with a black stripe along her spine with blue eyes (apprentice, Troutpaw)

Reedfall - dark golden tom with a black stripe along his spine, black paws, tabby legs and green eyes

Thornface - spotted brown tom with a black face and hazel eyes (apprentice, Birdpaw)

Mallowclaw - pure white tom with brown eyes (apprentice, Bluepaw)

Marigoldfoot - black she-cat with golden paws and blue eyes

Hailfur - dark gray tom with black spots and yellow eyes

Snowpetal - flecked white she-cat with dark gray paws and amber eyes

Sunnypelt - bright ginger she-cat with white patches and hazel eyes

Stormnose - black tom with dark gray spots, white paws and blue eyes

Flamewhisker - flecked orange tom with amber eyes

Honeyflower - golden she-cat with darker flecks, white ears and yellow eyes

Echoheart - pale gray tabby she-cat with darker paws and amber eyes

Featherstripe - silver tabby she-cat with gray eyes

Whiskertail - dark gray tom with a tabby tail and gray eyes

Wildsong - mottled dark brown tom with black paws and green eyes

Apprentices (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

Maplepaw - flecked golden tom with amber eyes

Bluepaw - blue-gray she-cat with darker spots and yellow eyes

Birdpaw - dark brown and black she-cat with ginger flecks and golden eyes

Troutpaw - mottled orange tom with white paws and blue eyes

Snailpaw - mottled pale brown tom with dark brown paws and green eyes

Queens (she - cats expecting or nursing kits)

Shrewfrost - dusky brown she-cat with gray patches and pale blue eyes, mother of Mudkit, a dark brown and white tom with pale blue eyes, and Sandykit, a gray she-kit with sticking-out fur and amber eyes

Beechleaf - gray and white tabby she-cat with green eyes, expecting

Applebreeze - tortoiseshell and tabby she-cat with gray eyes, mother of Meadowkit, a pale tortoiseshell and white she-kit with gray eyes, Firekit, a dark tortoiseshell she-kit with hazel eyes, and Dustkit, a spotted brown tabby tom with black paws and brown eyes

Oaktail - dappled brown she-cat with white paws and hazel eyes, expecting

Elders (former queens and warriors, now retired)

Minnowdrop - dappled dark gray, black and white she-cat with yellow eyes

Cats Outside of Clans

Tasha - white tabby she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Tiara, a pale silver she-kit with black and white flecks and green eyes, and London, a golden tabby she-kit with white paws and blue eyes

Champ - bright golden tom with white flecks and green eyes

Lynx - spotted tawny tom with brown eyes

Scarlet - dark ginger and black she-cat with a white stripe along her spine and amber eyes


	3. Clan Territories

CaveClan:

Its camp is a huge cave with a covered ceiling, tunnels leading to different dens. The entrance is a jagged stone slope with thick bushes and tree roots separating two paths: the territory path and the dirtplace path. The cave looks like a part of the pine forest they live in from outside, as it is covered in trees, bushes and dirt. The leader's den is inside the Longrock, where the leader calls his/her Clan for a meeting on top of. The leader's den is bigger than the rest of the dens, and the ground is covered with moss. The medicine cat's den is right next to the leader's den, and it is deeper underground than the rest of the dens. There is a small waterfall and a stream in the den, where herbs grow. There is a storage room, where there are small crevices in the stone wall and holes in the ground. There's a patient room, which is the immediate room you walk into. Finally, the medicine cats sleep in a very small den next to the storage room. The warriors' den is farthest away from the leader's den, and the deputy sleeps in a separate den next to the warriors' den. The warriors' den is circular, and is very spacious. Ivy covers the entrance of the den. The nursery is in between the medicine den and the elders' den, while the elders' den is next to the apprentices' den. The apprentices' den is next to the warriors' den. The nursery is higher up than all of the dens, with something like stairs leading up to it. The stairs are stone and very narrow. There are thick bundles of leaves and moss right next to the stairs, just in case a queen or a kit trips on the stairs and falls. The elders' den is slightly deeper underground than the warriors' den, which is on the surface of the camp with a long tunnel leading into it. There is a lot of cobweb and moss growing in the elders' den, making it a very soft and cozy den. The apprentices' den is connected with a small tunnel to the warriors' den. There are two floors to the apprentices' den; the first floor, the surface layer, is the sleeping den, and the lower floor is a practice den for bored apprentices, or apprentices who wish to train but are confined in camp. The fresh-kill pile are multiple holes, or very tiny caves in the walls or the ground, much like the storage room. The prey is separated in three different categories; birds, mammals and reptiles. The dirtplace tunnel is not far from camp. The outside territory of CaveClan is mostly a thick pine forest, or marsh. There's Battlestones, a wide, mossy area with the sky covered with pine trees. The moss makes this part of the territory soft and easy to train fighting on. Darkpines is an especially dark part of the pine forest near the ForestClan border. Apprentices come here at night to train their sight at night. Marshwaters is a swamp that leads to StreamClan. It is a great hunting place. Finally, there is the Gathering tunnel, where CaveClan travels through to the Gathering place. Also, CaveClan shares borders with ForestClan and MoorClan.

ForestClan:

Its camp is a wide, grassy clearing in the heart of the forest. Bushes and trees surround it, covering the sides of the camp but leaving the skies wide open. Beneath the Lightningtree is where the Clan meets for meetings, and beneath its roots lay the leader's den. The leader's den is a slightly small, underground den with an earthy scent and walls made of hardened soil and dirt. The deputy sleeps in the same den as the leader, but on the other side. Next to the leader's den is the warriors' den and on the other side is the apprentices' den. The warriors' den and the apprentices' den are both slightly above the surface. The apprentices and warriors have to jump to get in or out of their dens. Ivy covers the entrance to the warriors' den, which is a very large hole dug out in the packed stone and dirt wall. Same goes for the apprentices' den. The nursery is a ditch in the ground, while the elders' den is in a hollow tree that has fallen down. The entrance to the nursery is very narrow, and only two kits, or one queen can get in and out at the same time. This is for protection reasons. The top of the nursery is covered by brambles and tightly weaved undergrowth. The elders' den is wider than you'd expect it to be, and the crevices in the wood are patched up by brambles. The medicine cat's den is on the opposite side of the leader's den, and it is a two-part den with a storage den and a patient den. The medicine cats sleep in the patient den, but if there is a highly contagious sickness in the patient's den, they move all cats who don't have the sickness, including themselves, to the storage den. The storage den has a small pool of water with extra moss in a corner. The herbs are stored in stone shelves. There is a small area still in the camp but separated by some hedges and bushes that kits and apprentices play in. The fresh-kill pile is located under an apple tree, where cats share tongues, too. The entrance is a gorse bush with a thorn barrier at the top of it for safety reasons. This means that cats above the age of 6 moons have to duck to get into the camp without getting injured. Luckily, the instinct to avoid the thorn barrier is born within every ForestClan cat. ForestClan has two landmarks: Brightrocks and the Moon Tree. Brightrocks is much like Sunningrocks, where ForestClan cats can go sunning next to a small stream and marsh leading to StreamClan. The Moon Tree is an ancient oak tree that seems to hold the moon when it is night, where the surrounding territory is rich of prey. Their dirtplace is located not too far away from the elders' den. They travel to the Gathering place by a trail outlined with different trees and bushes. Lastly, ForestClan shares borders with CaveClan and StreamClan.

MoorClan:

Its camp is located on a lower plateau. MoorClan has a spectacular view of mountains, hills and its hunting grounds from their camp, as it is open. There are jagged stones all around MoorClan's camp, and only MoorClan cats are born with the ability to dodge stones such as them. The leader's den is right on top of a taller plateau that intrudes MoorClan's camp. The deputy sleeps with the warriors and apprentices at a corner of the camp. The elders are protected under gorse bushes, and the nursery is located in a ditch with a gorse weaving on top of the hole. The medicine cat's den is a den with gorse and bramble-weaved walls protecting it. It's only one room, with a water source and herbs on one side and patients on the other. The medicine cat usually sleeps next to the herbs. When it rains, the MoorClan cats evacuate themselves from their camp and go into a nearby abandoned fox burrow and the cats block the rain water from flowing in by places some rocks and pebbles at the entrance. The fresh-kill pile is located under a gorse tunnel, which protects it from the rain. They have the Dustplace as their training place, and Hunting Hills as their main hunting place. They travel to Gatherings with nothing to guide them; they just remember the route by heart. Last but not the least, MoorClan shares borders with CaveClan and StreamClan.

StreamClan:

Its camp is a huge piece of its territory. It is surrounded by bushes, and after that, a little moat of water that is thick enough to prevent cats other than StreamClan from coming in without guidance. StreamClan meets beneath the Small Waterfall for their meetings. The Small Waterfall is, well, a small waterfall that the leader climbs on top on and goes back down. The leader's den is located behind the waterfall. There is a narrow path that leads to his/her den that isn't visible from anywhere but the side view. The leader's den is a large stone den inside a stone wall. The medicine den is located right next to it, where the waterfall follows a narrow route into the medicine cat's den. Moss and herbs grow by it, and the storage room is what you're greeted by when you step into the damp-smelling den. The patient's den is located farther into the medicine den, and the medicine cat sleeps in the storage room. The elders' den is in the driest place in camp. It's also the sandiest part. They sleep in a sandy den with stone walls and a sand ground. The warriors' den is right next to the apprentices' den, which is near the entrance. Both of the dens lead underground, and the deputy sleeps on a separate floor in the warriors' den (it has two floors). The nursery is next to the elders' den, under the protection of bramble walls and tree shades. It is quite spacious, and it allows kits to play around freely. The fresh-kill pile is located in a hole next to the Small Waterfall. Caught fish are not killed at the spot, but rather returned to the stream made by the Small Waterfall and let go there, as the stream has a dead end for fish on either side. When needed, StreamClan cats will kill them. The dirtplace is located under the roots of a birch tree at a far corner in camp. You must go a bit far in though. StreamClan has many landmarks, such as the Mudstones, the Stream and the Fightingplace. The Mudstones is a marshy area with a thin stream running through it and stones that warm in the sun. The Stream is what makes StreamClan. It runs through the whole entire territory of StreamClan, and apprentices practice swimming and catching fish in there. The Fightingplace is a mossy place with a small pond where StreamClan cats practice fighting on land and in water. They travel to Gatherings via a tiny creek that leads to the Gathering place. StreamClan shares borders with ForestClan and MoorClan.

Gathering place:

The Gathering place is a quite big clearing covered with trees and bushes. You can see the stars and the moon clearly from here. The Starcave is a moss-and-ivy covered stone cave where leaders stand on during Gatherings. Once you get in the cave, there will be steps leading down to a beautiful, glowing, ice-blue stone. It reflects the stars, and you can see the moon shining down on it. That is the Starstone. In order to connect to StarClan from there, you must touch your muzzle or nose to it and close your eyes. During Gatherings, deputies stay on a lower part on top of the Starcave while medicine cats stay by a little pond on each side of the Starcave. There is a moss-covered ditch in front of the Starcave where the Clan cats sit for the Gathering.


	4. Prologue

Mistlepaw hurried to the main den as soon as she heard the sounds of agony. Mossyflight was already there, narrowing her eyes as she examined the patient.

"What happened?"

"Copperfang… he's tearing everybody in the battlefield…" Silvertail panted, blood flowing from the scratch on her face.

"Mistlepaw, care for Silvertail and Bramblefang." Mossyflight growled, glancing up. "Also, get me some dandelion leaves, dock, goldenrod and stinging nettle. Maybe some more horsetail and comfrey root, too." The black and white medicine cat sighed as she gazed at her pile of herbs next to her. Mistlepaw nodded, and ran into the storage room. She collected what her mentor told her to, and brought it out. Mossyflight merely nodded, and began chewing leaves. Mistlepaw nodded to Silvertail, and she came closer to Mistlepaw. She had a scratch on her cheek, a nick in her ear, a deep wound on her flank and a bite mark in her front leg. Mistlepaw grabbed the last of the tormentil supply, and chewed it. She spit it out, and spread it on Silvertail's cut on her flank. She chewed up a dock leaf, and applied it onto Silvertail's cheek, then applied goldenrod poultice onto all wounds. Chewing marigold and dry oak leaves into a poultice, she motioned for Bramblefang to come closer. After applying the poultice onto Silvertail's wounds and stuffing them with cobwebs, she examined Bramblefang's wounds before carrying out the necessary treatment.

"Mistlepaw, watch over Bloompool." Mossyflight said, moving over to Silvertail and Bramblefang. Mistlepaw comfortingly licked Bloompool's ear, checking her wounds. Her belly fur was drenched in blood, staining her long white fur.

"Mistle… Mistle-Mistlepaw." Bloompool coughed, and Mistlepaw woke up from her sleep as the flecked she-cat pawed weakly at her legs. She noticed that her claws were unsheathed, but Mistlepaw dismissed the tiny scratch marks.

"Yes?" The medicine cat apprentice asked, perking her ears up. Bloompool had so much pain and sorrow in her eyes, yet she looked so determined.

"Kill me, Mistlepaw." The white warrior begged, her paws trembling. Mistlepaw felt a pang of anguish in her heart.

"No," Mistlepaw hissed. "I won't."

"Mistlepaw, do you want me to suffer? Is that truly the will of StarClan?" Bloompool murmured, her fur glistening in the moonlight. Mistlepaw hesitated, her ears flattening.

"But I should consult Mossyflight about it." Mistlepaw whispered, her glowing amber eyes dimming. Bloompool weakly shook her head, chuckling in the slightest.

"You shouldn't need to, Mistlepaw. I can feel the spirits come closer to me every second. They're walking in her dreams, telling them about my destiny, like they did with me all those moons ago. I'm destined to die fighting for my Clan, and I'm proud to say that my death will cause the victory of my Clan. For my loved ones. Now, let me go, Mistlepaw." Bloompool smiled, sorrow apparent in her eyes. Mistlepaw turned her head away from Bloompool.

"No, I won't!"

"Yes, you will, dear one. Now, go ahead, grab the deathberries, though I would prefer the deadly nightshade." Bloompool encouraged, and Mistlepaw looked down at Bloompool's tired face. She didn't want anyone to suffer. That was her job: to make sure no-one suffers from pain in the Clan. But could she really do this?

"Do it, Mistlepaw." A light breathing could be heard in her ear, and she looked up to see her dead warrior mentor, Emberleaf's faint outline. He looked sympathetic, and Mistlepaw looked up with a brave yet miserable look on her face, the same one that Bloompool had when she first woke Mistlepaw up.

"Okay. Okay, I'll - I'll do it." The tortoiseshell apprentice shuddered, and grabbed the last supply of deadly nightshade from the storage. Bloompool smiled at the deadly herb, and Mistlepaw cringed and pushed the herbs towards her. Bloompool cast Mistlepaw a sorry glance before lapping up the poisonous berry. As soon as she ate the berries, she coughed and puked up blood before going limp. Mistlepaw backed away, tears forming at her eyes. What had she done? She'd forgotten all about medicine code 11: _a medicine cat will be exiled from their Clan if they kill one of their patients._ She'd just broken the medicine cat code, and would be banished from her Clan!

"Mistlepaw?" Mossyflight's tired voice came ringing through the cold den, and Mistlepaw shut her eyes and turned her head away. Mossyflight padded over to Mistlepaw, when she halted a few tail-lengths away from Bloompool's cold body.

"I'm sorry, Mossyflight," Mistlepaw softly whispered. "I failed you and the medicine code." The pale tortoiseshell cried. Mossyflight walked closer to Mistlepaw, her gaze hardening.

"StarClan told me you were a dangerous medicine cat. I should've listened to them." The black and white medicine cat hissed, her claws unsheathing. Mistlepaw's eyes widened. _What? But Bloompool and Emberleaf-they-did they lie to me? Bloompool was Emberleaf's mate… did they force me to kill her because they wanted to be together?_ Mistlepaw felt like wailing, but she held her tongue. She sat still as Mossyflight cuffed her ears, screeching.

"WE HAVE A MURDERER IN THE CLAN!" Mossyflight yowled, glaring at Mistlepaw.

Mistlepaw was horrified. Why would her mentor do this to her? Then, she knew. She remembered how fiercely loyal her mentor was to StarClan and the medicine code. And both told her to exile her own apprentice from the Clan. Mistlepaw hissed, and bit into Mossyflight's long, sweeping tail, the memories of training with Emberleaf coming back. However, she froze there. She did not want to harm any more cats. She just wanted to help them. Also, Emberleaf had lied to her like Bloompool. She could not trust warriors anymore. The medicine cat screamed louder, and scratched Mistlepaw's flank. Mistlepaw kept quiet as Russetstar and Sparrowsong walked into the den with Sorrelpaw, Thistlefang, and Leafwind. Mistlepaw flattened her ears as Russetstar and Sparrowsong dragged Mistlepaw out of the medicine den with Sorrelpaw watching the scene with a terrified look on his face. Mistlepaw's tail drooped as she was pinned down to the ground in front of the Longrock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Longrock for a Clan meeting!" Russetstar yelled into the empty night sky, the moon shining bright. _How could StarClan do this to me?_ Mistlepaw thought as she saw all the cats swarming towards the Longrock.

"CaveClan, we are here tonight to exile a dangerous killer in our Clan, and to sit vigil for our dead warrior, Bloompool." Russetstar claimed, and Sparrowsong held Mistlepaw up by the scruff. Many warriors and apprentices gasped. "Mistlepaw, I, Russetstar, as leader of CaveClan, banish thee from CaveClan!" Russetstar yowled, and some cats cheered as his words ended. Sparrowsong easily carried Mistlepaw out of the entrance with the rest of the Clan following, and pinned her down once again.

"Never come back again!" Sparrowsong hissed, and clawed Mistlepaw's ear, nicking it. Mistlepaw whimpered, and Sparrowsong kicked her away. Mistlepaw weakly stood up and began to walk away, looking back one last time. All the cats were going back in, but Sorrelpaw ran over to Mistlepaw, rubbing his face against hers.

"I'm sorry, sis…" He whispered, licking her cheek. Mistlepaw hung her head.

"Get away from that filthy murderer, Sorrelpaw!" Leafwind scolded with a disgusted look in her eyes, and Sorrelpaw stared at Leafwind with disbelief.

"Leafwind, she is your daughter."

"A daughter neither your father or I wished I had!" Leafwind snarled, and Thistlefang nodded, narrowing his eyes. Sorrelpaw shook his head, and trudged back to his parents. Mistlepaw's tail drooped as she realized how lonely she'd be. She was about to turn and go when she heard an angry screech from Leafwind.

"C'mon, Mistlepaw!" Sorrelpaw panted, running ahead of Mistlepaw. Mistlepaw gulped and looked back. Her eyes widened as she saw the deep gash in her side, then Thistlefang's enraged look. She flattened her ears and followed Sorrelpaw, catching up to him. He stopped at the border between CaveClan and the outside world, and looked back to Mistlepaw. Mistlepaw nodded, and they ran out from CaveClan territory together. _What are we supposed to do now?_ Mistlepaw thought in dismay, when she felt a gentle breeze surround her. _Don't worry, dear one. We'll forever look over you. Thank you so much._ A she-cat's voice echoed in her ears, and Mistlepaw felt a warm sensation run through her. She would survive, and defend her brother as much as he cared for her.


	5. Chapter 1

Mistlekit wandered around in the medicine den, sniffing each and every herb.

"Don't go close to that, Mistlekit. That's deadly nightshade." Mossyflight warned, and pushed the dark berries away from Mistlekit. Mistlekit flattened her ears and curled her lip.

"I know that!" Lashing her tail, Mistlekit stomped out of the medicine den. She loved working with herbs, but honestly, she hated working with Mossyflight. She was so bossy and always treated her like a newborn kit.

"Why are you looking so upset, Mistlekit?" A dappled orange tom with glistening green eyes walked up to Mistlekit, and the pale tortoiseshell kit sighed.

"Mossyflight's treating me like I was born yesterday again."

"I know that you are 5 moons old, but really, you are still physically considered a kit, Mistlekit." Emberleaf soothingly murmured, his tail resting on her back. Mistlekit sighed, and nodded, looking up at Emberleaf.

"I get it, I get it. But-" Mistlekit was interrupted by Sorrelkit crashing into her, making her fall down.

"Sorry Mistlekit!" Sorrelkit squeaked, his long tail wrapping around his paws as he sat down. Mistlekit grumbled something that couldn't be understood and started to groom herself. Sorrelkit meekly smiled, and Mistlekit only playfully nudged him with a grumpy look on her face. "I said sorry. Oh, hi, Emberleaf!" Sorrelkit chirped, looking at the orange warrior. Emberleaf smiled, and turned around.

"Hello, Sorrelkit. You look like you have a lot of energy today! I was just about to go out hunting with Bloompool. Do you need me for anything?"

"Nope! Bye, Emberleaf!" Sorrelkit meowed, waving his thin tail. Emberleaf shook his head with a grin and walked away.

"Why are you here again?" Mistlekit sighed, rubbing her face with a soft white paw.

"Mama said to come back to the nursery! She says it's time to sleep!"

"Really? But I just got-" Mistlekit started to say, but then she looked outside from the cave. She saw the darkness, and turned around with Sorrelkit. They ran back to the nursery. As soon as they stepped into the bramble den Leafwind licked Mistlekit and Sorrelkit on the head.

"Oh, I'm glad you're back! Tansywhisker's here because she wanted to help with the nests, since the apprentices are all so busy." Tansywhisker let out a mrrow of amusement.

"Ha! The last time I saw them was when I visited their den to tell them about the Gathering tonight!" The tortoiseshell and white warrior snorted, her tail curling around her. Leafwind smiled, shaking her head.

"Remember when we were apprentices?" The queen sighed, gazing outside.

"Yeah. Remember that day when Fernpaw and Mistypaw fell into the hole Bramblepaw had dug? They were so surprised, and when they got out of there, they were basically frozen!" Tansywhisker licked her paws and ran them over her muzzle.

"Let's remind them of that when morning comes!" Leafwind snickered, and Mistlekit let out a purr, watching her mother and her aunt bond. "Come here, young ones." Leafwind called, and the siblings walked over to their mother.

"Eek! Mistlekit's tail's too wet!" Sorrelkit complained, jumping out from the warm nest, desperately licking his paws in an attempt to dry them. Oh yeah, Mistlekit thought. I got my tail wet by accident earlier when I dunk it in the water.

"Honestly, Sorrelkit, I don't know how you're going to become a great warrior if you're so afraid of water!" Mistlekit teased, flicking her ears.

"I'm not StreamClan! I'm CaveClan, CaveClan has no reason to be wet!" Sorrelkit argued. Tansywhisker twitched her whiskers as she watched the two kits fight.

"I wish I could have a family like yours, Leafwind." She whispered, and looked out of the den. "I have to go. Sparrowsong wanted me for a patrol. See you, Leafwind!" The tortoiseshell waved her tail at her sister, and ran out of the nursery.

"It's never too late to start one, Tansywhisker!" The ginger and black queen yelled after her sibling as she ran towards the Longrock.

"I wish there were more kits in the nursery to play with!" Sorrelkit piped up, shaking his fur out. Mistlekit agreed, but didn't say it out loud. She actually wasn't too sure she wanted young kits in the nursery.

"Well, it doesn't matter too much, dear, because in less than a moon, you are going to become an apprentice!"

"I know! It's going to be amazing!" Sorrelkit bounced up and down, running around the huge nursery. "It's going to be great to be able to go outside of camp!" The ginger and white kit grinned, and Leafwind licked his head.

"I understand you're excited, young one, but you need to go to sleep. It's nearly moonrise."

"What? Already?"

"See? Even the dusk patrol has returned! Now go to sleep." Leafwind pointed one claw at the entrance and the cats coming down from the stone slope. Mistlekit rested her chin on her paws and tried to identify all of the cats coming into the camp. Sparrowsong, Tansywhisker, Amberpelt, Spiderpaw, Thistlefang, Tigerpaw and Skyfeather… wow, there are more cats on a patrol than I thought there were! Mistlekit was surprised. She shook her head, and wrapped her bushy tail around her body.

"Goodnight, little one." She heard the breeze carry her mother's whisper, and Mistlekit let out a sigh before going to sleep.

-x-

Mistlekit shook out her tortoiseshell fur, grooming herself. It was nearly her apprentice ceremony, and she was so excited to start training.

"Hey, Mistlekit!" Sorrelkit bounded out of the nursery, his fur sleek and seeming to shimmer in the leaf-fall sun beaming down from the entrance.

"Soon-to-be Mistlepaw!" Mistlekit smirked, holding her head high. Sorrelkit chuckled, and jabbed Mistlekit in her side with a soft paw. "Hey!" Mistlekit yelped, her fur ruffled. Sorrelkit giggled, and ran away.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Longrock for a Clan meeting!" Russetstar proudly called from the top of the Longrock, and the Clan began to gather around him. Leafwind hurried out from the nursery and met up with her kits and Thistlefang. They both had proud looks in their eyes.

"Sorrelkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sorrelpaw. Your mentor will be Cherryface. I hope Cherryface will pass down all she knows on to you." Russetstar paused before continuing. "Cherryface, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Sparrowsong, and you have shown yourself to be brave and clever. You will be the mentor of Sorrelpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Sorrelpaw." Sorrelpaw bounded up to Cherryface, who seemed excited; perhaps more excited than her new apprentice, and they touched their noses.

"Mistlekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Mistlepaw. Your mentor will be Emberleaf. I hope Emberleaf will pass down all he knows on to you. Emberleaf?" Russetstar waited for the senior warrior to step up. "Emberleaf, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received fantastic training from Goldenstorm, and you have trained Mistyfrost well. You have shown yourself to be strong and wise. You will be the mentor of Mistlepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Mistlepaw." The dappled warrior touched noses with his new apprentice, and Mistlepaw looked over his shoulder to see Mossyflight standing next to Sparrowsong. She had a raging hatred in her dark green eyes, and her claws were unsheathed. Mistlepaw suddenly felt bad, and remembered how much fun it was to work with herbs. However, she had chosen a different path. But was it the path she was truly destined to take? Or had she chosen the path that StarClan hadn't planned out for her when she was born? A sudden feeling of guilt and doubt crashed over her, and Emberleaf had to nudge her to snap her out of her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Sorrelpaw whispered in his sister's ear, and Mistlepaw merely shrugged. She may just have been overthinking things. The ginger and white apprentice sighed, and turned back to his mentor.

"Mistlepaw?" Emberleaf gently nudged his apprentice, and Mistlepaw jumped.

"You scared me!"

"How are you going to become a good warrior when you are so easily scared?" The dappled orange warrior chuckled, and Mistlepaw flattened her ears, embarrassed. "Anyway, let's go explore the territory." Mistlepaw's ears stood up at the mention of the territory, and she almost let out a squeak of excitement. She couldn't though; she was an apprentice, not a kit. Emberleaf was walking towards the entrance, and Mistlepaw dashed after him. She easily caught up to him, her small body moving with the wind.

"You could be MoorClan, Mistlepaw!" Emberleaf laughed, flicking his tail back and forth. Mistlepaw curled her lip at the thought of the skinny warriors at the boundary, taunting her. But then, the scent of a fresh herb - comfrey root, by the smell of it - washed her mind. She felt a strange sorrow linger in her heart as she walked away from the tangy scent, following Emberleaf through the territory.

"This is the MoorClan border. Remember the scent of MoorClan." Emberleaf showed a section of the land where the forest slowly cleared off and the moor and hills could be seen. Mistlepaw took a deep breath, and smelled the MoorClan territory, which smelled like wind, grass and sand. She could feel the breeze already, and she was still a few tail-lengths away from the actual boundary. Emberleaf walked back to Mistlepaw, and they kept going until they reached a strange, thin pebble road and on the other side lay an oak-and-birch forest.

"That's ForestClan. We have until the middle of this road. This is an abandoned Twoleg road. They used to walk on it. There's still stale Twoleg scent… why don't you try and remember both Twoleg and ForestClan scent?" Mistlepaw sniffed at the road, and smelled CaveClan, ForestClan and Twoleg. The Twoleg scent was strange, and the ForestClan scent was leafy and flowery. Mistlepaw nodded, and they carried on.

"This is the tunnel to the Starcave, or the Gathering place. The leaders sit on top of the Starcave, where the Starstone lays. The Starstone is like the Moonstone or Moonpool in our previous territories." Mistlepaw nodded, flicking her ears. Emberleaf explained the rest of the territory; the Battlestones, where apprentices trained, Darkpines, where apprentices went to train their eyesight and hearing, Marshwaters, a swamp where prey is plentiful, and the Gathering tunnel, where CaveClan travelled through to get to the Gathering every moon. By the end of the tour, Mistlepaw's legs were aching. She yawned, and Emberleaf finally caught on that she was tired.

"Go back to camp, have some food and get some sleep. We're going hunting, and maybe even battle training tomorrow." The dappled orange warrior mewed, his eyes gleaming with amusement. Mistlepaw too tired to protest; she nodded, thanked her mentor and trudged back to camp with heavy paws.

"How was your first day as an apprentice, Mistlepaw?" Spiderpaw looked genuinely interested in what Mistlepaw had to say, but the she-cat merely shrugged.

"It was cool. Now let me get some sleep!" She half-heartedly chuckled, and curled up in her new nest. It was exciting to be an apprentice, but it was also very tiring. However, she still couldn't stop thinking about how much fun tomorrow was going to be.


	6. Author's Note

Hello! I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while, I was being lazy. I felt bad so I took a few things out of my notes for Mistleleaf's Code, and made informative chapters out of them, if you haven't noticed. I am working on a new chapter, and it will hopefully be out in the next week - but no promises. I'm on a holiday on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week (it is currently Thursday for me), so no updates those three days. Well, that's all I have to say! Have a nice day or sleep!


	7. Chapter 2

Mistlekit shook out her tortoiseshell fur, grooming herself. It was nearly her apprentice ceremony, and she was so excited to start training.

"Hey, Mistlekit!" Sorrelkit bounded out of the nursery, his fur sleek and seeming to shimmer in the leaf-fall sun beaming down from the entrance.

"Soon-to-be Mistlepaw!" Mistlekit smirked, holding her head high. Sorrelkit chuckled, and jabbed Mistlekit in her side with a soft paw. "Hey!" Mistlekit yelped, her fur ruffled. Sorrelkit giggled, and ran away.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Longrock for a Clan meeting!" Russetstar proudly called from the top of the Longrock, and the Clan began to gather around him. Leafwind hurried out from the nursery and met up with her kits and Thistlefang. They both had proud looks in their eyes.

"Sorrelkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sorrelpaw. Your mentor will be Cherryface. I hope Cherryface will pass down all she knows on to you." Russetstar paused before continuing. "Cherryface, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Sparrowsong, and you have shown yourself to be brave and clever. You will be the mentor of Sorrelpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Sorrelpaw." Sorrelpaw bounded up to Cherryface, who seemed excited; perhaps more excited than her new apprentice, and they touched their noses.

"Mistlekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Mistlepaw. Your mentor will be Emberleaf. I hope Emberleaf will pass down all he knows on to you. Emberleaf?" Russetstar waited for the senior warrior to step up. "Emberleaf, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received fantastic training from Goldenstorm, and you have trained Mistyfrost well. You have shown yourself to be strong and wise. You will be the mentor of Mistlepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Mistlepaw." The dappled warrior touched noses with his new apprentice, and Mistlepaw looked over his shoulder to see Mossyflight standing next to Sparrowsong. She had a raging hatred in her dark green eyes, and her claws were unsheathed. Mistlepaw suddenly felt bad, and remembered how much fun it was to work with herbs. However, she had chosen a different path. But was it the path she was truly destined to take? Or had she chosen the path that StarClan hadn't planned out for her when she was born? A sudden feeling of guilt and doubt crashed over her, and Emberleaf had to nudge her to snap her out of her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Sorrelpaw whispered in his sister's ear, and Mistlepaw merely shrugged. She may just have been overthinking things. The ginger and white apprentice sighed, and turned back to his mentor.

"Mistlepaw?" Emberleaf gently nudged his apprentice, and Mistlepaw jumped.

"You scared me!"

"How are you going to become a good warrior when you are so easily scared?" The dappled orange warrior chuckled, and Mistlepaw flattened her ears, embarrassed. "Anyway, let's go explore the territory." Mistlepaw's ears stood up at the mention of the territory, and she almost let out a squeak of excitement. She couldn't though; she was an apprentice, not a kit. Emberleaf was walking towards the entrance, and Mistlepaw dashed after him. She easily caught up to him, her small body moving with the wind.

"You could be MoorClan, Mistlepaw!" Emberleaf laughed, flicking his tail back and forth. Mistlepaw curled her lip at the thought of the skinny warriors at the boundary, taunting her. But then, the scent of a fresh herb - comfrey root, by the smell of it - washed her mind. She felt a strange sorrow linger in her heart as she walked away from the tangy scent, following Emberleaf through the territory.

"This is the MoorClan border. Remember the scent of MoorClan." Emberleaf showed a section of the land where the forest slowly cleared off and the moor and hills could be seen. Mistlepaw took a deep breath, and smelled the MoorClan territory, which smelled like wind, grass and sand. She could feel the breeze already, and she was still a few tail-lengths away from the actual boundary. Emberleaf walked back to Mistlepaw, and they kept going until they reached a strange, thin pebble road and on the other side lay an oak-and-birch forest.

"That's ForestClan. We have until the middle of this road. This is an abandoned Twoleg road. They used to walk on it. There's still stale Twoleg scent… why don't you try and remember both Twoleg and ForestClan scent?" Mistlepaw sniffed at the road, and smelled CaveClan, ForestClan and Twoleg. The Twoleg scent was strange, and the ForestClan scent was leafy and flowery. Mistlepaw nodded, and they carried on.

"This is the tunnel to the Starcave, or the Gathering place. The leaders sit on top of the Starcave, where the Starstone lays. The Starstone is like the Moonstone or Moonpool in our previous territories." Mistlepaw nodded, flicking her ears. Emberleaf explained the rest of the territory; the Battlestones, where apprentices trained, Darkpines, where apprentices went to train their eyesight and hearing, Marshwaters, a swamp where prey is plentiful, and the Gathering tunnel, where CaveClan travelled through to get to the Gathering every moon. By the end of the tour, Mistlepaw's legs were aching. She yawned, and Emberleaf finally caught on that she was tired.

"Go back to camp, have some food and get some sleep. We're going hunting, and maybe even battle training tomorrow." The dappled orange warrior mewed, his eyes gleaming with amusement. Mistlepaw too tired to protest; she nodded, thanked her mentor and trudged back to camp with heavy paws.

"How was your first day as an apprentice, Mistlepaw?" Spiderpaw looked genuinely interested in what Mistlepaw had to say, but the she-cat merely shrugged.

"It was cool. Now let me get some sleep!" She half-heartedly chuckled, and curled up in her new nest. It was exciting to be an apprentice, but it was also very tiring. However, she still couldn't stop thinking about how much fun tomorrow was going to be.


	8. Chapter 3

Mistlepaw stared longingly at the medicine den, circling her paws on the hard stone floor. She perked up her ears, and she could almost hear the waterfall down there. She missed working with Mossyflight, no matter how harshly she treated her. Mistlepaw turned her attention to Ravenpaw, who was nudging her awake.

"C'mon! Splashwhisker said that we're going to train together today! Sorrelpaw and Spiderpaw are coming, too!" The black tabby whispered, being careful not to wake Swiftpaw and Tigerpaw.

"Where's Adderpaw and Whitepaw?"

"They've gone out on patrol." Ravenpaw replied, her whiskers twitching to help find her way out of the dark apprentices' den. There were two entrances to the den; the warrior entrance and the usual entrance. The warrior entrance was the place where mentors or warriors walked through to check on the apprentices. The usual entrance was the tunnel that the apprentices used to get out so that they wouldn't bother the sleeping warriors. Mistlepaw followed Ravenpaw out of the den, and to the entrance.

"Hello there, Mistlepaw!" Emberleaf cheerfully greeted his apprentice, and Mistlepaw giggled out a 'hi' in response. Spiderpaw brushed against Mistlepaw, playfully poking her with one paw.

"You can be so shy sometimes." The gray tom purred. Mistlepaw's neck fur bristled, and she countered Spiderpaw.

"Am not!" Mistlepaw blurted out, pretending to be angry at Spiderpaw. A look of worry and fear crossed his amber eyes for a moment before relief and understanding flooded his eyes.

"Are we going to go or not?" Splashwhisker and Sorrelpaw's voice reached Mistlepaw's ears, and she turned to face Splashwhisker, Emberleaf, Cherryface, Sorrelpaw and Ravenpaw. They all had either an impatient, bored or amused look on their faces.

"Sorry!" Mistlepaw squeaked, running up next to Sorrelpaw. Her brother nudged her, a mischievous glint in his green eyes. Mistlepaw flushed under her fur, and Sorrelpaw only chuckled.

"Okay. Today we're going to do battle training. We're going to focus on three moves: the heavy lift, the front paw blow, and burning claws." Cherryface said, narrowing her eyes. "I'll train with Sorrelpaw, Splashwhisker will train with Ravenpaw, and Emberleaf will train with Mistlepaw and Spiderpaw." She decided, nodding at her fellow mentors. They nodded back, and went to their respective apprentice, or in Emberleaf's case, apprentices.

"Alright, apprentices. We'll practice the heavy lift first, since that one's the easiest. The heavy lift is when you jump onto your enemy from the behind and choke them until they beg for mercy. Remember that CaveClan cats are well heavier than the rest of them, but don't let that relax your grip on them. Push them to the ground. I'll model with Spiderpaw, Mistlepaw." Emberleaf explained, glancing at Spiderpaw. The gray apprentice let out a breath, and as Emberleaf stood up and faced the other way, he leapt and pounced on the dappled orange tom. Emberleaf growled and tried to shake Spiderpaw off, but the apprentice pressed him down and strangled Emberleaf with his front legs. Emberleaf coughed, and tried to shove Spiderpaw off again before giving up. Spiderpaw got off the senior warrior, and the dappled tom shook out his fur.

"Now you try on Spiderpaw, Mistlepaw." He said to the tortoiseshell she-cat, and Mistlepaw nodded. Spiderpaw looked away from Mistlepaw, and Mistlepaw crouched down, tensing her hind legs. Emberleaf carefully watched Mistlepaw, nodding slowly. With a flick of her ear, Mistlepaw jumped up high and landed on Spiderpaw with sheathed claws. Mistlepaw pushed down on the older apprentice as hard as she could, making sure that he couldn't get up. Keeping her thick tail hidden between her belly and Spiderpaw's back, Mistlepaw gently pressed down her paw on Spiderpaw's neck. Spiderpaw struggled for a while before going to limp and lashing his tail as a sign of giving up. Mistlepaw smirked and hopped off of Spiderpaw. The apprentice shook out his fur, a glint of pride and amusement in his eyes as he saw the smug smile on Mistlepaw's face. Emberleaf smiled at Mistlepaw, his tail slowly sweeping the ground under it.

"Well done, Mistlepaw. Now, let's practice the front paw blow." Emberleaf nodded to Spiderpaw, and Spiderpaw sighed as he stopped grooming his fur. Licking his pads, he stood in front of Emberleaf. With sheathed claws, Spiderpaw hit Emberleaf on the cheeks once each side lightly, then as Emberleaf pretended to be dazed, Spiderpaw put his paws together and crashed them on top of Emberleaf as gently as he possibly could. Emberleaf 'fell' to the ground head-first. Spiderpaw stepped back, and Emberleaf stood up with moss in his fur. Mistlepaw nodded, showing her understanding of the new move. Shuffling her paws, Mistlepaw got ready to attack Spiderpaw when a white, gray, black, cream and brown and white pelt bursted into vision.

"Oh, hey Nightpool! What's happening?"

"Two foxes and cubs! The mother's too fierce so we had to retreat!" The black she-cat gasped as the rest of her patrol ran back to camp. Spiderpaw and Mistlepaw exchanged wild glances when Emberleaf raced after Nightpool.

"What're you two doing? C'mon, we've gotta get to camp!" Emberleaf yowled, and the two apprenticed rushed back to camp with the dappled warrior.

"Thistlefang, Mousestripe, Splashwhisker, Primroseclaw, Bramblefang, Smokewing and I will go and attack the fox family. Swiftpaw will come with us but won't fight, just watch us from afar. When it seems that we're in trouble, he will get reinforcements from the camp." Sparrowsong was ordering when the three cats bursted into camp. Sparrowsong greeted them with a brisk nod before heading out of camp, the cats he had mentioned following him. The apprentices looked excited, the elders looked tired, and the warriors were anxiously pacing up and down the clearing.

"What if the foxes come in?" Goldenstorm, an elder, fretted. Beetlefern comfortingly wrapped his long tail around his mate, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Then we fight them to death." Russetstar answered, his sleek ginger tail lashing. Mossyflight was hurriedly arranging herbs into small bundles in her den when Mistlepaw had looked. That's marigold. That's goldenrod. and that's cobweb. What's that fern-shaped leaf? Horse… horsetail! That's it! Sorrelpaw padded up to his sister, flicking his ears.

"What are you frowning about?" His purr surprised Mistlepaw, sending her about two tail-lengths into the air.

"My StarClan, Sorrelpaw! You frightened me to death!"

"I wouldn't hope so, you'd make a very good warrior one day!" Sorrelpaw smiled before walking away. Mistlepaw rolled her eyes. Did she want to become a warrior? Before she could go in-depth about that, Emberleaf nudged her to reality. All cats were staring at the entrance as Swiftpaw came running in.

"Sparrowsong's really badly wounded! We've hidden the cubs, and the parents are furious! The father's nearly dead, though, and the mother fox is heavily injured. We need around two more warriors to help finish them off and drive the foxes out of our territory!" Swiftpaw panted, and Molestrike and Rosefur stood up.

"We'll go." They said before running out with Swiftpaw. All cats stood around nervously for what seemed like seasons before the battle patrol came back to the camp, a panting Sparrowsong on Molestrike, Thistlefang, Bramblefang and Smokewing's backs. Mossyflight hurried out, her fur ruffled and herbs dangling from her jaws. She examined Sparrowsong with narrowed eyes, looking carefully at his wounds. He had a big gash in his flank, and a few scratches here and there along with a scratch down one of his eyes. The eye was swelling rapidly, and Mistlepaw watched as Mossyflight stuffed cobwebs in every bleeding crevice she could find in the dappled deputy. She applied marigold and goldenrod poultice to the wounds and celandine juice to his eye with the other herbs.

"Bring him to my den, he will sleep there tonight." Mossyflight nodded to the warriors who brought him back, and as she was about to walk away, Russetstar hopped down from the Longrock with a worried expression present on his face.

"Is he going to live?"

"I'm sure he is, but I'm not too sure if he will be able to see out of his damaged eye ever again." The black and white medicine cat replied, turning around to face Russetstar. Russetstar held her gaze for a moment before dipping his head.

"I trust you, Mossyflight." Russetstar said before walking into his den. Mossyflight stalked into her den with the four warriors carrying Sparrowsong on their backs at her heels. Mistlepaw sighed, watching the last of Smokewing's tail disappear into the darkness of Mossyflight's den. She recalled the fresh and tangy smell of herbs, and looked away from the medicine den to the apprentice's den. Had she truly made the right choice in becoming a warrior apprentice?


	9. Chapter 4

"Sorrelpaw?" Mistlepaw sighed, turning in her nest. It was pitch black everywhere, but Mistlepaw could still make out the silhouette of her brother in his nest.

"Yeah?" Sorrelpaw mumbled, his ears pricking up.

"Do you think I should become a warrior?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just, I don't know if I should be a warrior or a medicine cat."

"Don't fret, Mistlepaw. You'll figure it out one day. Think with your heart, not your brain." Sorrelpaw mewed, and curled his tail over his nose. Mistlepaw stared at Sorrelpaw a heartbeat longer, then shook her head and went to sleep herself.

"Mistlepaw. Mistlepaw." A cold paw nudged her awake, and she looked up to see a shimmering cat out of her bleary gaze.

"Who are you?" Mistlepaw quietly asked.

"You'll find out; you don't have to whisper. They can't hear you." The starry cat nodded at an apprentice, and Mistlepaw carefully stepped out of her soft nest. Tail flicking, the mysterious cat silently stalked out of the apprentices' den, the warriors' den and the cave. Mistlepaw followed her, making sure not to tread on any stray tails.

"So what did you want me for? And who are you?" Mistlepaw questioned once they got into the pine forest. The faint gray she-cat sighed, sitting down on the plush green grass.

"I'm Willowspots, an ancient medicine cat of CaveClan. Petalstar?" The medicine cat called into the trees a name, and a gray and white she-cat appeared.

"Greetings, Mistlepaw. I was once leader of CaveClan, long before you were born. Russetstar's grandfather mentored me." Petalstar sighed wistfully, as if she was longing to be back in her younger days. "Anyway, we are here because of a message directed to you." Mistlepaw's eyes widened in surprise.

"When you were born, all of StarClan could clearly see your destiny. The fate you are meant to follow. From birth to death, we could see you in every event of your life. Many things will happen, but you are not meant to become a warrior. If you become a warrior, you will become a leader, a leader enveloped with the idea of revenge and hatred towards your own Clan. You will destroy your own Clan. You are meant to become a medicine cat, Mistlepaw, however hard the route might seem." Willowspots' eyes glowed, and Petalstar's amber eyes were filled with regret that was quickly covered up with determination.

"We will go now. We have given you a warning, Mistlepaw, but as Sorrelpaw said; follow your heart." Mistlepaw nodded as the two StarClan cats faded away, and she woke up in her nest. Bearing a bittersweet smile on her face, she trudged to Sorrelpaw, who was talking to Spiderpaw in the corner of the den.

"Mistlepaw! You're awake!" Sorrelpaw chirped, his face bright. Mistlepaw nodded.

"Sorrelpaw… I think I want to be a medicine cat." She blurted out, sighing. Sorrelpaw's eyes widened, and Mistlepaw looked up with a newfound courage and determination. She would not follow a destiny that wasn't meant for her; she didn't want to kill her Clan with her own paws. But what did revenge and hatred have to do with it? She would ponder that later. Right now, the announcement was more important.

"Are you sure, Mistlepaw?" Sorrelpaw asked, his paw reaching out for Mistlepaw's.

"Yes, I'm sure." Mistlepaw cocked her head as she saw Sorrelpaw shooting Spiderpaw a sorry glance. However, when he turned back to face her sister, his gaze was bright with pride.

"Well then, you better go tell Russetstar!" Sorrelpaw brushed his tail against Mistlepaw's flank, and Mistlepaw nodded. Just as she stepped out of the den, she heard Sorrelpaw murmur one word: "sorry" to Spiderpaw. Mistlepaw shook it off, and headed towards Russetstar's den. She stood at the entrance, taking deep breaths.

"Russetstar? It's Mistlepaw." She called, her voice quivering. After a moment of silence, Russetstar answered.

"Come in." Mistlepaw did as he said, and walked into the spacious den. "What is it?" Russetstar asked kindly. Mistlepaw felt her breath hitch in her throat.

"I wish to be a medicine cat apprentice." The tortoiseshell said, filling the air with silence.

"Is this truly your will?"

"Yes."

"Very well. I will tell Mossyflight myself. Does Emberleaf know?"

"No, he does not. Should I go tell him?"

"It would be best if you could." Russetstar nodded, silently urging Mistlepaw to go talk to Emberleaf. Once again, Mistlepaw obeyed, and scanned the clearing once she was out of Russetstar's den. She found the dappled orange warrior she was looking for by the fresh-kill holes, chatting up a storm with Berrycloud, his mate.

"Emberleaf!" She called out, running towards her soon-to-be-former mentor.

"Mistleleaf! What did you want?" The warrior purred, his tail stirring up the dust on the stone.

"I - I want to be a medicine cat, not a warrior." Mistlepaw admitted, searching Emberleaf's face for any signs of sadness, anger or hatred. She saw nothing except acceptance.

"I knew this would happen, Mistlepaw. If it is your will to be a medicine cat apprentice, you have my permission and blessings." The dappled warrior smiled, and sent Mistlepaw off with a friendly nudge. Mistlepaw smiled back, and looked up at the Longrock, where Russetstar was standing.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Longrock for a Clan meeting!" The ginger tom yowled, and at once, curious cats began to gather under the gigantic rock. Mossyflight was standing by the right of the Longrock with a look of satisfaction, and Sparrowsong had just heaved himself out of the medicine cat's den, still not used to seeing out of one eye only. "CaveClan, one of our newly made warrior apprentices, Mistlepaw, wishes to change to a medicine cat apprentice. Emberleaf, do you approve of this change?" Russetstar looked at Emberleaf, who solemnly nodded. Russetstar turned his gaze to Mossyflight, who also nodded. Russetstar himself nodded slowly in turn, and looked back up.

"Cats of CaveClan, as you know, I will not be around forever, so it's time I took an apprentice. I have chosen a cat who has shown enthusiasm and kindness. your next medicine cat will be Mistlepaw." Mossyflight looked at the tortoiseshell apprentice, whose eyes were shining.

"Mistlepaw, do you accept the post of apprentice to Mossyflight?" Russetstar asked, and Mistlepaw stood taller.

"I do."

"Then at the half-moon, you must travel to the Starstone to be accept by StarClan before the other medicine cats." The black and white medicine cat dipped her head, and Russetstar ended the meeting.

"The good wishes of all of CaveClan will go with you." He said, and went back into his den.

"Mistlepaw. Tonight is the half-moon. Be prepared." Mossyflight said before walking away. The apprentice saw Leafwind, Thistlefang, Sorrelpaw and Tigerpaw making their way over to her.

"Mistlepaw, who gets your bedding?"

"Really, Tigerpaw? Really?"

"What? I'm just curious."

"Stop it, stop it. The bedding goes nowhere. The warriors will decide." Mistlepaw chuckled, and Tigerpaw rolled her eyes before walking into the warriors' den.

"Mistlepaw, why didn't you tell us?" Leafwind and Thistlefang gazed at their daughter with calm eyes, and Mistlepaw sighed.

"I was just so excited." She admitted, and saw her mother shake her head with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"You were always enthusiastic about everything, just like your father." She purred, and her mate playfully nudged her. While they did that, Sorrelpaw leaned over to his sister and whispered in her ear.

"I'm so proud of you." With that, Sorrelpaw left, and Mistlepaw turned around to go to the medicine den, leaving her parents to bathe in memories.

"Mistlepaw, you're finally here. C'mon, it's nearing dusk. We have to go now. It's not far, so we won't need travelling herbs." Mossyflight said as soon as Mistlepaw stepped in her den. Mistlepaw nodded. With a flick of her tail, the black and white medicine cat walked out of her den and out of the camp. Mistlepaw followed, excitement tingling in her paws. Crossing the wide CaveClan territory, they reached an underground tunnel.

"This is the Gathering tunnel. We go through it to reach the Starcave, also known as the Gathering place." Mossyflight informed her new apprentice, and headed inside the dirt tunnel. When they got into the Gathering place, Mistlepaw saw a pretty tortoiseshell and white she-cat, and a pale gray and white tabby tom.

"Where's Deerfern and Gingerpaw?"

"Running late as usual, I guess. Who's this, Mossyflight?" The pale tabby asked, intrigued in the small apprentice.

"She's my new apprentice. Mistlepaw, this is Palefang, and that's Dapplecloud. Deerfern and Gingerpaw are late - they always are - and they're MoorClan's medicine cats. Palefang's the ForestClan medicine cat, Dapplecloud's the StreamClan medicine cat." Mossyflight explained, pointing to every cat with her plumy tail. Mistlepaw looked around, trying to get used to the surrounding and the medicine cats.

"I'm here, we're here. S-s-sorry." A mottled pale brown she-cat exploded from the ferns, leaves clinging to her pelt. A small dark ginger and white tom ran in after her, his deep amber eyes wide. However, they didn't seem to shrink - perhaps his eyes were always wide as if a badger had just attacked him.

"Deerfern, Gingerpaw. What took you so long?"

"We were h-held up b-by a p-p-patrol." The light brown she, whom Mistlepaw assumed to be Deerfern, gasped. Gingerpaw nodded furiously.

"Anyway, this is Mistlepaw, the newest CaveClan medicine cat - _apprentice._ " Mossyflight narrowed her eyes, but then relaxed them as she flicked her ears in Mistlepaw's direction. Deerfern nodded, her thin legs still trembling from the run.

"Enough chatter, let StarClan accept the newest addition to the medicine cats." Palefang chuckled, and Dapplecloud purred. They all nodded, and went down into the Starcave. Being careful on the steps, Mistlepaw stumbled down to the glimmering, bright stone. She looked at her mentor, and Mossyflight gestured for her to wait.

"Mistlepaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?" Mossyflight began as soon as the other medicine cats entered the cave.

"It is." Mistlepaw nodded. Mossyflight motioned for Mistlepaw to stand closer to the Starstone.

"Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. She has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will." Mossyflight announced, and all the medicine cats dipped their heads before pressing their noses to the Starstone. Mistlepaw followed their actions, and touched her nose to the ice-cold rock. She felt herself fading away, and soon, everything went black.

"Mistlepaw, you have made the right choice." The soft voice of Willowspots echoed in her ears, and the tortoiseshell apprentice looked up, opening her eyes. She saw Petalstar and Willowspots standing there, a proud and strong look in their eyes. Mistlepaw dipped her head, and both StarClan cats moved over to Mistlepaw.

"However hard the journey to becoming a medicine cat may be, you must stay strong." Petalstar murmured in her ear, tickling her ear fur.

"StarClan accepts you as a medicine cat. StarClan will always be with you." Willowspots softly whispered in Mistlepaw's other ear before touching her nose to the apprentice's feathered ear. Smiling, Mistlepaw felt her body wake up in the real world. She had made the right choice. StarClan approved.


	10. Chapter 5

Mistlepaw yawned, stretching out her front legs. It'd been just around a moon since she'd become a medicine cat apprentice, and Mossyflight had said that she was coming along well as a medicine cat. Last night had been the half-moon Gathering for medicine cats, and she was quite tired.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Longrock for a Clan meeting!" A familiar voice called from the right of the medicine den. Mistlepaw purred, remembering Adderpaw, Spiderpaw and Tigerpaw. It was probably their warrior ceremony today. She peeked outside, seeing cats of all colours gather beneath the Longrock. Mossyflight was already out there, and Sparrowsong seemed to be fine, even with his one blind eye. The two medicine cats had been tending quite carefully to the CaveClan deputy.

"Spiderpaw, Adderpaw and Tigerpaw, come forth." Russetstar commanded once every cat had gathered. The three apprentices in question did so with nervous and proud looks in their eyes.

"Amberpelt, Shellflower and Thistlefang, are these apprentices ready to become a warrior of CaveClan?" The ginger leader looked at the three warriors, and they nodded in unison. Russetstar turned his gaze back towards the three apprentices, and cleared his throat.

"I, Russetstar, leader of CaveClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn," Russetstar paused. "Spiderpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." The gray apprentice's eyes were sparkling as he answered.

"Very well. Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Spiderpaw, from this moment you will be known as Spiderwhisker. StarClan honors your cleverness and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of CaveClan." Russetstar announced, and rested his muzzle on the new warrior's head. After licking the leader's shoulder, Spiderwhisker dipped his head before taking a step back. Adderpaw took a step forward, and Russetstar urged him on with his gaze.

"Adderpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Adderpaw, from this moment you will be known as Adderstrike. StarClan honors your strength and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of CaveClan." Adderstrike licked Russetstar's shoulder in a different spot than Spiderwhisker had, and walked towards his brother. Tigerpaw bounced forward, her eyes sparkling with eagerness.

"Tigerpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do!"

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Tigerpaw, from this moment you will be known as Tigerfang. StarClan honors your energy and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of CaveClan." Tigerfang puffed her chest out as Russetstar rested his muzzle on her head, and she licked his shoulder. She stepped back, standing next to her brothers.

"Spiderwhisker! Adderstrike! Tigerfang! Spiderwhisker! Adderstrike! Tigerfang!" The Clan chanted, and Mistlepaw noticed that Whitepaw chanted Adderstrike's name the loudest.

"Remember, you must sit vigil, all of you." Russetstar reminded the new warriors, and they nodded before they were swarmed over by the apprentices and their parents. She noticed that Spiderwhisker shot her a look of something she couldn't see before Smokewing blocked her view.

"Wait! I want to announce something, too!" Rosefur yowled, leaping onto the Longrock. Some cats looked up in surprise as they stopped in their tracks. "I'm expecting Bramblefang's kits, and I'm going to move into the nursery." Rosefur announced, jumping down from the Longrock. As she did so, there were murmurs of happiness at the news of new kits. Mistlepaw felt excited; it would be her first time helping a queen birth kits!

"Can I make you a nest?" Ravenpaw practically shoved her muzzle in Rosefur's face, and Rosefur nodded, purring.

"I wanna join, too!" Whitepaw and Swiftpaw exclaimed, running towards the medicine den, where Mistlepaw was waiting.

"Can we have some moss?" The apprentices asked, and Mistlepaw nodded towards the huge moss pile in the storage room. Swiftpaw ran the fastest to the moss, Whitepaw being second and Ravenpaw the third.

"Thanks, Mistlepaw!" Ravenpaw's muffled yell came into Mistlepaw's ears as the black tabby apprentice ran out of the medicine den, jaws full of moss, running after her siblings. Her tiredness disappeared as she stepped into the storage den, stuffing her nose with the scent of herbs. Mossyflight had gone out right after the ceremony, claiming that she needed to collect some herbs. Mistlepaw started sorting the herbs, noticing that they were running out of tansy and hoping that Mossyflight had gone to harvest some tansy. She lay down in her nest, and remembered the last Gathering and half-moon Gathering. Gingerpaw had become Gingerfern, Oaktail and Beechleaf had given birth to their kits, Wildsong and Petalbird's kits had become warriors, Squirrelfall, Gingerfern's sister, had become a warrior, Mottleflight had given birth and Sedgetail was expecting. The Clans were thriving, and she was glad for that. Then, she started wondering what Rosefur's kits would look like; they'd be here in another moon or so, or she assumed. Most queens got into the nursery after a moon of being pregnant.

"I see that you've sorted the herbs. Good." Mossyflight nodded as she walked into the storage den, mouth full of tansy and marigold. The black and white medicine cat put the herbs into their respective holes before looking at her apprentice. "You're free to do anything today. You've spent the past moon working hard to be a proper medicine cat apprentice." Mossyflight flicked one black ear and walked away, tail swishing. Mistlepaw purred quietly, and stepped out of the medicine den and into the clearing. She spotted her brother play-fighting with Swiftpaw at the edge of the clearing, while Whitepaw was chatting with Adderstrike by the fresh-kill holes. Ravenpaw came panting out of the nursery, her fur covered in moss. As soon as she did so, her mentor, Splashwhisker, came bounding towards her. The black tabby sighed and rolled her eyes before following him out to the forest, Swiftpaw, Briarheart, Sparrowsong and Leafwind tailed them. _It must be the noon patrol,_ Mistlepaw thought. She turned her head to see Rosefur talking with Goldenstorm, Bramblefang and Beetlefern, and Mossyflight heading into Russetstar's den. Emberleaf was leading Yarrowblaze, Skyfeather, Amberpelt and Silvertail out of the camp - a hunting patrol, Mistlepaw guessed. She saw that her brother was heading towards her, and she straightened up.

"Hey sister! What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Mossyflight said that I can have the day off." Mistlepaw added, sighing.

"Ah. Do you want to go hunting?"

"I don't know how to hunt."

"I'll teach you, then. I'll also teach you some combat and defense moves - you need to defend yourself in battle, and be prepared to fight if you need to!" Sorrelpaw chirped, skipping out of camp, and Mistlepaw hesitantly followed. When they were quite deep into the pine forest, they spotted a wide clearing with bushes around it.

"Perfect! We can train here first." Sorrelpaw meowed, stepping into the small field.

"I guess. So what are we practising first?"

"Do you remember the heavy lift and the front paw blow?"

"Kind of."

"Try it on me, then!" Sorrelpaw exclaimed, turning around and away from Mistlepaw. So she did, and Sorrelpaw helped her perfect it.

"Great! Now, let's try the shadow charge, burning claws, and sharp fangs." Sorrelpaw purred, and they trained until early twilight.

"You're doing well. We should train your hunting until evening, and then we'll go back. Mistlepaw nodded, and Sorrelpaw smiled and crouched. "This is the hunting crouch." He said, and stuck his tail out just above the leaves on the ground, his rump down and head lowered. Mistlepaw tried to copy him, and Sorrelpaw chuckled. He pushed his sister's ears down, and told her to lower her hindquarters a bit more.

"Now, let's say that the branch over there is a mouse. I'll show you how to pounce on prey." Sorrelpaw got back into the hunting crouch, and slowly moved toward the stick, his tail barely skimming the leaves so that he didn't make a single sound. When he got to about a tail length and a half away from the branch, his hind leg muscles tensed up and as quick as lightning, he jumped a few mouse lengths in the air, landing neatly on the branch and twisting his head to give the imaginary mouse a swift killing bite to the neck. Mistlepaw had watched very carefully, and she was sure she could do it. Sorrelpaw got off the stick, and Mistlepaw was doing fine until - _swish!_ \- she'd accidentally swung her tail to the side, churning up the leaves underneath her. Sorrelpaw shook his head, and embarrassed, Mistlepaw tried again. This time, she succeeded, and she felt quite proud as Sorrelpaw nodded in approvement.

"You still need some work, but let's stop here for now. It's moonrise; they'll be wondering where we are." Sorrelpaw said, and Mistlepaw flicked her ears in agreement. As they headed back to the camp, Mistlepaw saw a movement in the bushes. She cracked open her jaws and scented squirrel. She darted to where the scent was coming from, her paws hardly touching the ground. She spotted the squirrel a few heartbeats later, while it was chewing on a nut. Mistlepaw got into the hunting crouch, and silently slithered through the undergrowth towards the squirrel. After a moment of absolute silence, she tensed her hind legs and pounced on the squirrel. She pinned it down, and sunk her fangs into its small neck. The creature immediately went limp, and Mistlepaw tried to get rid of the taste of blood from her mouth. She hated it.

"Mistlepaw, where have you - wow! Great catch!" Her brother came rushing through the forest, complimenting her squirrel as soon as he saw it. Mistlepaw dipped her head, and picked up the squirrel. And without a word, they returned to camp as the moon slowly made its way to the top of the sky.


	11. Chapter 6

"Mossyflight! Mistlepaw! Rosefur's giving birth!" Tansywhisker's voice rang out throughout the camp, and the two medicine cats were the first to hurry into the nursery to see the ginger tabby queen in agony.

"Mistlepaw, get raspberry leaves, chervil, fennel, borage leaves, and a strong stick." Mossyflight ordered, placing a paw gently on Rosefur's white belly. As soon as Mistlepaw returned with the herbs, Mossyflight coaxed the birthing queen to eat them. As Rosefur lapped up the tangy herbs, she gasped and Mistlepaw nudged the stick forward. The ginger queen bit down harshly on the stick, and a blue sac slithered out of her. Mossyflight instructed Mistlepaw to place a paw on Rosefur's stomach, and told her to feel the ripples.

"There are three more kits, Rosefur." Mistlepaw told the queen, and as she groaned, another sac slipped out. Mossyflight had nipped the first sac open, and handed it to Rosefur to lick it dry. This happened with the second, the third and the fourth sac, and finally, Rosefur was done kitting.

"You can come in now, Bramblefang." Mossyflight called for the golden tom, and he immediately came in, concern on his face. Obviously, he had heard the yowls from his mate.

"Four healthy, strong kittens. Two toms and two she-kits." Mistlepaw proudly reported, and Bramblefang licked Rosefur's ear.

"You did well, Rosefur. Look at our beautiful kits. What shall we name them?"

"The ginger tom with white flecks will be Thunderkit, as he reminds me of the fierceness of the thunder and stormy skies. The she with the white paws will be Smallkit, as her paws are smaller than what is normal." Rosefur purred, nosing each of the kits she mentioned.

"Assuming I can name the other two, the other tom will be Sparkkit, to match the energy that he seems to contain. Just look at him wriggling! Now, the last kit, the yellow she-kit will be Frecklekit, thanks to her pelt pattern." Bramblefang nudged all of the kits, and Sparkkit let out a small wail. Mistlepaw smiled, looking at the happy family. She'd never have one - but that didn't matter, she was doing what StarClan willed her to do, and she was happy doing it. As she went outside, she saw joyous looks of her Clanmates spreading like wildfire. After hearing that Sedgetail from MoorClan had kitted at the last Gathering, CaveClan was getting worried about the nursery and how there were no kits.

"Mistlepaw! What are their names?" A flecked golden tom made his way over to the medicine cat apprentice.

"Oh, hello, Yarrowblaze! The ginger tom with the white face is Sparkkit, the dark ginger tom with the white flecks is Thunderkit, the flecked yellow she is Frecklekit, and the golden tabby is Smallkit. I think you can go in now - Splashwhisker, Amberpelt, Briarheart and Molestrike are going in." Mistlepaw added, kinking her tail towards the entrance to the nursery. Yarrowblaze dipped his head in thanks and hurried into the nursery. Happy noises could be heard from the nursery, and Mistlepaw noticed that Goldenstorm and Beetlefern, the parents of Bramblefang, weren't going into the nursery to greet their grandkits.

"Why aren't you going in?"

"The nursery is a bit full now, and Rosefur needs to rest. We'll visit the kits later." Goldenstorm replied, ears flicking as she saw Russetstar heading into the nursery to properly welcome the kits into the Clan.

"Ah. Well, I'll be seeing you later." Mistlepaw awkwardly nodded as she saw her mentor walk out of the nursery. She rushed towards the black and white cat, shaking out her fluffy pelt.

"You can have this day off, too." Mossyflight waved her away with her tail, her eyes dimming. Mistlepaw frowned, and walked away. She didn't understand why her mentor was being so sour these days- perhaps she was sick? Mistlepaw was beginning to miss the ways of a warrior; so much freedom, and so much action, too! Sure, StarClan meant for her to become an apprentice, but she wasn't so sure she wanted to continue her medicine cat apprenticeship. She would never get a mate, she would never go fight in battles, and it would be less boring if she was a warrior. She could even become leader one day! She could hunt and she could fight, why shouldn't she become a warrior? She didn't even have to be a leader, or a deputy - she just wanted to be a warrior. _If you become a warrior, you will become a leader, a leader enveloped with the idea of revenge and hatred towards your own Clan. You will destroy your own Clan._ Willowspots' words came back to her, but then she also remembered what she'd also said: … _follow your heart, Mistlepaw._ Frustrated, Mistlepaw shook her head fiercely and looked at the entrance, where sunlight was flooding in and a patrol was waiting. Mistlepaw stared at the group of cats longingly. Soon after they left, Mistlepaw closed her eyes before opening them again. She had to get answers from StarClan. Should she really continue being a medicine cat apprentice? Mossyflight was young; she'd get another apprentice before she retired or died. Mistlepaw rushed out of the camp, ignoring the strange stares from some of her Clanmates, and ran towards the Starcave. She hissed when her pelt caught on a branch, ripping out part of her outer coat. But she couldn't care less - she had to get to StarClan. When she reached the Starcave, it was barely sunfall - she hadn't thought the time through. She'd be hungry when she could touch her nose to the Starstone, but it'd be worth it.

Soon enough, it was nightfall - and the stars were shining down on the large stone, making it glow white. Mistlepaw eagerly pressed her nose onto the cold, old rock, feeling herself slip away.

"Mistlepaw, I understand you're here for answers, and perhaps a prophecy related to you destiny." Petalstar's voice echoed in her ears, her sight still filled with darkness. "We have no prophecy, but we do have answers, dear Mistlepaw." The whispery voice of the gray and white leader became more solid when the tortoiseshell apprentice's vision finally cleared, and she could see StarClan's hunting grounds.

"Do tell me." Mistlepaw forced her pelt to lie flat, eyes wide.

"I know you are hesitant in continuing your path of, well, becoming a medicine cat, but remember, it is StarClan's will."

"Why should I follow the destiny StarClan gave me, and not the one I choose to follow?" Mistlepaw countered, narrowing her eyes.

"I… Mistlepaw, remember? The path of a warrior will kill your Clan." Willowspots joined the conversation, quick to defend Petalstar, whose eyes were clouded with some emotion Mistlepaw couldn't define.

"Fine. I'll just sacrifice the life I want and what I wish to have for the sake of my Clan." Mistlepaw said with a hint of bitterness, and the mist clouding Petalstar's amber eyes changed to anger.

"Loyalty to your Clan is more important than anything! Respect your birth Clan, or you don't deserve to live in a Clan!" The gray and white she-cat hissed, her neck her bristling. Taken aback by the ancient leader's sudden anger, Mistlepaw nodded slowly.

"I apologize. I will do my best to serve my Clan as a medicine cat." Mistlepaw held back a "whether I like it or not". Willowspots nodded, and Petalstar seemed to calm down.

"Good, Mistlepaw. Now, go back to your Clan - they'll be looking for you." Petalstar calmly said, and everything swirled away. When Mistlepaw opened her eyes, it was halfway to sunhigh. The tortoiseshell ran back to camp, pushing past the drooping pine branches and heavy leaves. Panting, she went into the Clan, determined to get back to her medicine cat duties. However, when she got into the CaveClan camp, she saw something she wasn't expecting to see. It wasn't bad, but it was just out of the blue.

It was a StreamClan patrol, facing Russetstar and Sparrowsong. What did they want?

"Russetstar, we've warned you. We need that territory for the coming leaf-bare. If you don't give it to us by the next Gathering, be prepared for a battle - wherever it may take place." Otterstar flashed a last warning glance at Russetstar before flicking his tail and walking out of the camp.

"Thistlefang, Sparrowsong, Bramblefang and Skyfeather, escort them out of the territory." Russetstar called to the warriors nearest to him, and they nodded before following the StreamClan patrol out of camp. Did this mean that a battle would occur soon?


	12. Chapter 7

The Clan had been going on the same, despite the threats of StreamClan for the past moon or so. Tonight was the Gathering night, and Mossyflight had decided that Mistlepaw could go. The medicine cat was getting more and more… distant from reality, and Mistlepaw didn't like it. She preferred the snappy, strict Mossyflight over the drifting one.

"Thistlefang, Spiderwhisker, Molestrike, Sorrelpaw, Cherryface, Tigerfang, Adderstrike, Briarheart, Swiftpaw, Mousestripe, Whitepaw, Splashwhisker, Ravenpaw, Smokewing, Emberleaf, Leafwind, Tansywhisker, Willowfoot and Mistyfrost. You will all come to the Gathering tonight. We'll be leaving in a few moments, so finish your fresh-kill and grooming quickly!" Russetstar announced, and headed back into his den with Sparrowsong on his tail. Mistlepaw bounded over to the fresh-kill pile, and Sorrelpaw immediately spotted her, beckoning his sister over to him. He was crouched over a half-eaten mouse.

"Want to have some of mine?" He asked, cocking his head.

"If you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind, you're my sister, mouse-brain!" Sorrelpaw purred, whiskers twitching, and Mistlepaw cuffed his ear with sheathed claws before bending over to take a few bites out of the mouse. "You can have the rest of it, in fact." Sorrelpaw added, then flicked his ears before heading away from the fresh-kill pile. Mistlepaw rolled her eyes before finishing the mouse. She licked her lips as Russetstar came out of his den.

"It's time! Follow me." The ginger tom yowled, and leaped off the Longrock. The cats began to leave the camp with Russetstar and Sparrowsong at the front, and Mistlepaw caught Rosefur's longing gaze. Poor Rosefur.

"I'll be by the pine trees with Whitepaw, Ravenpaw and Swiftpaw if you need me! See you, Mistlepaw!" Sorrelpaw chirped before bounding away.

"Mistlepaw! Come here." Mossyflight flicked her tail as the tortoiseshell apprentice ran up to her. Mistlepaw greeted the other medicine cats - Palefang, Deerfern and Gingerfern. Dapplecloud wasn't here yet. Mistlepaw looked around, then pricked her ears as she heard many pawsteps heading this way. StreamClan!

"We're here, we're here. Let's get this Gathering started." Otterstar glared at some CaveClan cats, but climbed up the Gathering Tree, and cleared his throat. "May I start?" The leaders nodded, while Russetstar remained still.

"Prey has been running well for StreamClan. We have three new warriors, welcome Meadowface, Firebreeze and Dustblaze!" Cats chanted the new warriors' names, and Otterstar continued. "That is all for StreamClan. There has been no suspicious activity going on in our territory." Mistlepaw thanked StarClan that he didn't mention the tension between StreamClan and CaveClan. She pricked her ears once more as Russetstar began his report.

"Our apprentices have been coming along just fine, and StarClan has been good to us in terms of prey. We have nothing else to report." _Phew!_ No battle today. Next up was Kestrelstar.

"We have two new warriors! Meet Yellowflower and Lizardmask!" The leader announced, and the four Clans cheered for them as they stood proudly in the middle of the crowd.

"ForestClan has had a good moon. Dawnpaw and Shadepaw are our newest apprentices." The Clans yowled their names, as Dawnpaw puffed her chest out and Shadepaw stared at his paws, ears flattened. Huh. Mistlepaw had never seen such a shy tom. Mistlepaw got lost in her thoughts, when she felt someone shake her.

"We've got a few moments to share tongues. Go socialize." Mossyflight told her, trying to speak normally over the sounds of cats chatting. Mistlepaw nodded, and headed into the crowd. She was immediately halted by a group of apprentices. They smelled strongly of ForestClan and StreamClan.

"Hi! You're from CaveClan, right? Do you know where the CaveClan apprentices are?" A dark tortoiseshell she-cat that Mistlepaw knew as Mosspaw asked, tipping her head. "We want to introduce Dawnpaw and Shadepaw to them."

"Oh, uh, they're - they're by the, um, pine trees." Mistlepaw didn't mean to stutter, it'd just… come out like that, she supposed.

"Cool! Thanks!" Mosspaw purred, and lead the group of apprentices to the pine trees. Mistlepaw stared as Whitepaw greeted them happily, welcoming them and introducing her siblings and Sorrelpaw to them. Mistlepaw narrowed her eyes at the way Dawnpaw was staring at Sorrelpaw, before the tortoiseshell averted her gaze towards a group of warriors.

"Congratulations on becoming a warrior, Yellowflower!" She heard Redstripe purr, Specklewhisker and Maplefur next to him. Yellowflower dipped her head, eyes shining with pride. Lizardmask wasn't too far away from his sister, being congratulated by Bluebird, Birdsong, Adderstrike and Tawnyclaw. Toadtail, Tigerfang, Snailfang, Spiderwhisker, Hawktalon and Jayflutter hanging out near the two small groups of other younger warriors. Squirrelfall was headed towards her brother, Gingerfern, who was standing next to Deerfern, speaking to his mentor with enthusiastic eyes.

"Clans, it is time to return to our respective camps! Follow me, CaveClan!" Russetstar announced, turning his head away from the other leaders'. CaveClan gathered, the warriors saying bye to each other and the apprentice group breaking up. Mistlepaw padded over to Sorrelpaw, who was talking to Swiftpaw.

"That was over relatively quickly, don't you think?" She asked as Sorrelpaw peeled away from Swiftpaw's side. The ginger and white apprentice shrugged, licking his paws while limping on on his other three paws.

"It's always over quickly."

"But still…"

"Hurry up, you two!" Sparrowsong, who was right behind them, grumbled. Mistlepaw looked at him apologetically before running to catch up to the front of the patrol, next to Mossyflight and just behind Russetstar. What kind of tension was forming between the Clans? Was it because of StreamClan? Mistlepaw hoped not.


	13. Chapter 8

"Let all cats, old or young, gather here beneath the Longrock for a Clan meeting!" Russetstar called from the Longrock, and Mistlepaw immediately woke up, ears perked up and eyes wide. _Old or young? What's that business about?_ She thought as she stood up and shook her pelt out. Her amber gaze travelled outside as she saw the cats gathering. Mossyflight was already out there, so she padded out of the den, too. Every cat looked confused.

"Old or young?" The tortoiseshell heard Amberpelt call out, and Sparrowsong shushed her, narrowing his eyes. The young warrior shut her mouth.

"We must battle train all the time from now on. The battle is nearing." What? Battle? Did he mean StreamClan? They wouldn't dare! And why was he getting so itchy about this battle? He was making a huge deal out of nothing big! StreamClan wouldn't kill, and that was only if they were to initiate a battle on CaveClan!

"I object! There's no reason we should train more because of a fantasy battle!" Bramblefang yowled, and murmuring swept the crowd of cats.

"I agree with Russetstar. If StreamClan were to strike, we have to win and suppress them so that they won't dare to attack ever again." Tigerfang called over all the commotion, and a new wave of hissing and agreeing crashed down on CaveClan.

"Stop! The leader's word is law." Smokewing yelled, and the cats settled down, still glaring at each other. Sorrelpaw stepped out from the crowd, and stood right beneath the Longrock.

"Why don't we vote? It's something our warriors ancestors have been doing since the dawn of time, and a genius idea at that." The ginger and white apprentice suggested, ears perked up and eyes wide. Mossyflight blinked, and padded over to the tom.

"I agree." She dipped her head, and some cats whispered among themselves. Dipping of the head was a gesture of respect, and a medicine cat to do that to an apprentice? That was unheard of.

"That's a good idea." A voice piped up from the back - Rosefur! The gentle queen stepped forward with a fierce look in her eyes. "These young kits have a father. They need to get to know their father - they're only a moon old. If Bramblefang is out training all day, they won't be close to their father as they could be. The fairest way to decide this is for us to vote." The ginger tabby claimed, wrapping her tail protectively around her four tiny kits. Russetstar faltered a little, but he stood strong. Mistlepaw stepped in next to her brother.

"It is. We all have a voice, Russetstar." The tortoiseshell looked up at her leader with a newfound confidence shining in her amber eyes.

"Fine. We shall have a vote!" The dark red leader's fur spiked up along his spine, narrowing his eyes. "Those who support me shall be on the left side of the Longrock, and those who don't shall be on the right." He curtly said before moving a little to the left of the Longrock while still on top of the stone. The crowd of cats began to murmur and talk, a few hisses breaking out in between them. Soon, CaveClan was separated, but the results were hard to tell. Mistlepaw looked around her, and saw Mossyflight, Sorrelpaw, Bramblefang and Rosefur. There was also Ravenpaw, Swiftpaw, Spiderwhisker, Cherryface, Willowfoot, Emberleaf, Mothbreeze, Molestrike, Beetlefern, Tigerfang and Goldenstorm. On the other side was Russetstar, Sparrowsong, Tansywhisker, Silvertail, Splashwhisker, Amberpelt, Thrushdapple, Mistyfrost, Skyfeather, Berrycloud, Briarheart, Yarrowblaze, Shellflower, Nightpool, Smokewing, Leafwind, Bloompool, Thistlefang, Ferntuft, Whitepaw, Adderstrike and Primroseclaw. Mossyflight stepped out of the crowd, and quickly went around, counting all of the cats, her long tail pointing to herself at the end. Her green eyes were dark with dismay, and she flattened her ears.

"Extra training." She announced in a low, monotone voice, sweeping her tail over her paws. The cats on Russetstar's side purred and cheered, and Russetstar had a smug look on his face. Rosefur fluffed out her fur, hissed in the leader's face and stomped back to the nursery. The red leader didn't seem to care as he leapt onto the Longrock, Sparrowsong sitting below him with a gleaming eye, the other remaining misty, although it did shine a little. Bramblefang raced after his mate, not wanting to listen to Russetstar.

"Cats of CaveClan! We shall start our training… now!" The tom yowled with bright eyes, before jumping down from the Longrock. He nodded to his deputy, and Sparrowsong began to organize battle training groups. Mistlepaw turned to look hesitantly at Mossyflight, but the black and white she-cat was already in one of the crowds with a scowl on her face.

"This isn't the will of StarClan… something will go terribly wrong." The medicine cat was muttering under her breath, and Mistlepaw gulped. She hoped that it was just the mood-talking, and not anything serious. The apprentice walked into the cats, being able to hear Sparrowsong better now that most of the cats were gone.

"... Nightpool, go with Skyfeather, Tansywhisker and Ravenpaw. Emberleaf, lead the last group. Go with Spiderwhisker, Swiftpaw and Mossyflight. Did I miss any cats? Oh, Mistlepaw! Tag along with the last group." Sparrowsong nodded towards Emberleaf before turning to the elders, Bramblefang and Rosefur. "You can all train together… Bramblefang, help them." He ordered before running after Nightpool's group, who was just exiting camp. _May StarClan guide our paws from here on._ Mistlepaw thought, flattening her ears, gaze going blank and eyesight going fuzzy. _A great battle will occur between all of the Clans. The stream has always run through the moors, while the forests has always helped conceal the caves._ Petalstar's voice rang clearly through her head, and her vision returned to normal. She felt a warm pelt press against hers, but she couldn't move to look. _StarClan shall guide every footstep of yours, Mistlepaw. Do not worry, for we'll be there to help in times of hopelessness._ Willowspots whispered into her ears, her transparent nose brushing Mistlepaw's feathered ears. _Forever._


	14. Author's Note 2

Aha... I'm sorry about the long wait.

Oh well. I had a writer's block and I was very busy with tests and stuff like the school play. I promise, longer chapters will be coming up soon because winter break will be here on December 18th! Yay!

I feel like this fanfic isn't even going to reach 20 chapters X3

Let's see what happens! I'll post an updated "Allegiances" chapter after chapter 10!

\- xox Infinity


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